eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

A NEW EVOLVING OPPORTUNITY IN SERVICE DESIGNING CASE: POWERPOKER.COM

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate: What is service design? First we will discuss the basic characteristics of services. In the next chapter the basic theories of design business are illustrated. In the last theoretical chapter a conclusion about the academic discussion about service design will be presented.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The theoretical part of the study comprises the academic discussion and the theoretical framework. The empirical part of the study discusses the case company PowerPokers’ view about service design. The empirical part is conducted by doing 5 qualitative semi-structured expert interviews.

FINDINGS

The most remarkable factor behind competition is differentiation of services among the online poker rooms. Naturally, the entire service design concept needs to be up-to- date in order to be able to provide services that meet the market requirements. Poker rooms can be seen as one of the leading service designers in the world mainly because they attract those segments, which have high knowledge about emerging technologies and trends. In addition, legislation puts pressure on companies to provide service design that meets the customers’ needs and at the same time highlighting the trust factors affecting the final decision.

KEYWORDS Poker, Service Design